Doncaster town centre pub praised for welcoming Pokemon Go players

Darren Burke

A Doncaster town centre pub has been praised for welcoming players of mobile phone gaming craze Pokemon Go.

The Tut 'n' Shive in West Laith Gate is welcoming gamers - over the age of 18 - to hunt for virtual Pokemon creatures in the bar - and the move has been welcomed by those gripped by the new smartphone game.

Player Adam Mitchell, posting on Facebook, wrote: "Good guy Tut n' Shive! Nice to see certain places getting into the spirit of things."

He posted a photo of a notice on display at the pub which welcomes players to search for the virtual reality critters using their mobile phones.

Writing on the Pokemon Go Doncaster Facebook page, which now has more than 1,000 members, he added: "For those who can't read it (the sign reads) access two Pokestops here. Two Pokestops outside the Frenchgate Centre can be accessed from with the pub areas."

"It then goes on to say if any rare Pokemon had been caught from these stops share it on their Facebook page."

A Pokestop is a real world landmark or building where players can stock up on essential items used for playing the game on their phones. The Doncaster Free Press office in Printing Office Street is also near to a Pokestop.

The app, which lets players roam a map using their phone's GPS location to find and catch Pokemon characters to train and battle, has already become a huge hit in the USA, Australia and Germany and now Doncaster players are getting in on the action.

The main aim of the mobile phone game is to catch Pokemon - pocket monsters - which pop up along the way. The game provides an augmented reality experience, using the smartphone's camera to provide a live view of the world, with Pokemon superimposed.

Any creatures caught can be used in battle against other players at Pokemon gyms - also real-world landmarks.